Experience color

Dew Drop In

Original oil Painting  16x20"

by Susan Roux

Color. 

It's one of the most fascinating things about painting. It can lead the eye through a specific journey on your canvas. It can create an ambiance. It can define distance and space. It can imitate sunshine and shade. It can scream or whisper. It can be playful and exciting or it can be bland.

As artists we get to control the roll it takes in our work. 

It takes a long time to understand color. There's so much to learn because it's a very complex subject. A color used incorrectly can stand out like a sore thumb. One single stroke out of place and suddenly it changes everything. The value (light or dark) of a color must be correct along with how concentrated or neutralized (grayed) it is. 

Learning to embrace the grays will add richness to your colors and your work. There's emotion in those mud puddles on grayed color. The trick is to know how to use it correctly and be in control of it. 

Understanding the properties of color enables you to take control. At times you've probably heard or read about certain concepts but have had difficulty wrapping your brain around them. Trying to paint with a particular focus in mind that you don't totally understand can be frustrating. So much so, that it can throw you into painter's block! That happens when you begin to be aware of a concept but don't totally understand it, yet try to implement it into your work. 

Simplifying things and learning them one step at a time can be your detour around that painter's block. Trying to push too much information into your brain at once only confuses. Having time to try new things, experiment with them, helps the mind grasp the concept. Not only is it something you hear or read, it is also something you try.

This will be the goal in my upcoming workshop, held August 10, 11, 12. 

I've been teaching for over 10 years. I teach to beginners and if I've learned anything over all this time it's how to explain things in the simplest way possible! So if you've been painting awhile and do pretty well but would like to learn more on the subject of color, my workshop is for you. I'm limiting class size to ten students so each one will get individualized attention.  

Come play with color. Come take the fear out of it and place yourself in control. All levels are welcomed. If you're interested or think you might be interested, please don't hesitate to contact me. I'll be happy to help you with your lodging needs as well. 

Maine is beautiful in August. You can begin your holiday with a three day workshop to get you primed and stimulated then continue on to practice your lessons in the lush coastal setting that is Maine.

The above painting Dew Drop In is exhibited at The Wright Gallery, Cape Porpoise, Maine. Please contact Charlie if you're interested in purchasing it. Thank you.

Back from Monhegan

We arrived with the island in full sun. It was a welcoming gift for a place that has a reputation of being so gray. The lupins were in full bloom and they sparkled with sunlight as we walked towards our home for the week. Flowering trees were everywhere and the aroma of sweet flower petals filled the air. I was so happy to be back.

It was already mid-afternoon. After settling into our room, it left just enough time for a walk through town before dinner. Cameras in hand, Mike and I slowly made our way down the narrow dirt streets. The slow pace made it feel like we were re-introducing ourselves to the island. Many things had changed so little, others had changed a lot.

During dinner a sudden downpour quickly changed the light filtering in the house. Lightening and thunder clashed and roared. Water poured down the street carving a deep variegated gully. I was glad I had taken a stroll before eating. How quickly things can change. It was a fast moving storm and before the dishes were done, a photographer noticed we had a rainbow.

Not just a rainbow, but a double rainbow!

Our house sits on Fish Beach and we were able to back up just enough to see the entire arc of the rainbow. It ended directly on our house! This had to be a good sign.

This was a very old house built in the 17 hundreds. It was a bit rougher than the usual accommodations I seek. But here as the pot of gold at the tip of the rainbow, I sensed magical things were going to happen. Excitement and inspiration were already pumping through my veins.

The house may have looked a bit dodgy, but our view made up for it.

This was the morning view from our second story bathroom. Yes, I said bathroom... I loved how the sun lit up the boats in the harbor. It made me want to jump out of bed. You may think I saturated the colors, but no. This is how vibrant it looks on a sunny morning.

Our ancient house softened with charm at golden hour. You can see it here at the top of the tiny beach. Not so dodgy looking anymore. Many people came to the beach in the evening. It became the perfect setting for clicking people pictures easily from the comfort of my beach chair. We had musicians in the house and they would gather outside to play and sing. Children would wade at the water's edge picking sea-glass and shells and dragging little sticks in the water. My camera was busy as golden light lit their clothes and captured their merriment. They'll be future paintings from this trip, I promise...

Spare time

Stonington Ledge

Original oil painting 14x18"

by Susan Roux

Getting back to normal.

At least I hope so. My life has been flying at a faster pace than usual and I'm very happy to return to my simple routine. Isn't that funny about routines? They can become so mundane and make you fell stuck in a rut, but lose if for too long and you're quite happy to return to it. This week my only commitments are the classes I teach. I wonder if I can get to the end of the week without creating new ones for myself...

It's usually a challenge.

I don't know about you, but I can't seem to keep my idle time idle for very long. As soon as there is spare time, I begin to fill it up. The same is true of my desk. My students know it is a piled mess. An organized mess though. I can usually find what I want in seconds. What my students don't know is if I take a day to clean it, I no sooner begin to fill it up again. Not just with random papers. Oh no. I start searching the internet finding things to apply to or getting ideas and of course I don't want to forget all this information I'm compiling, so it goes on paper. Lots and lots of paper. Then books and notebooks and folders followed by post-it notes and tiny pieces of different colored notepad paper to keep my thousands of thoughts in order. In the end, there isn't any order to be seen. Clutter covering my entire desk.

So as much as I would love to have a clean desk, I almost fear cleaning it. Fear of giving myself more projects!

For this week, I'll retreat to my easel. I've missed spreading paint around. How long has it been since I've painted one of my dreamy beach girls? Too long, I say.

Stonington Ledge is one of nine paintings I recently delivered at Blue Hill Bay Gallery (not to be confused with the Blue Heron Gallery), located in lovely Blue Hill, Maine. I stopped in to visit Peter, the owner, last June during my weeklong get-a-way to Deer Isle in quest of painting lupines. He agreed to represent me starting this year. You remember, right? Stonington is a lovely fishing village located on the tip of Deer Isle. Painting works for Peter was a real joy. The scenery up there is calming and beautiful. Much like the people who inhabit the area. The pace reminded me of Ireland. It's so fulfilling to know such places exist and when we really wish to slow down, we can retreat to these little gems to participate and be rejuvenated in their ways.

Another interesting fact about this painting is I did it with some beginner students. It was their 3rd painting. Yes, you read that correctly. Third painting. I won't tell you we did it in a snap, but without any pencil drawing, I let them through this complex painting, step by step. Their results were astounding! I had second year students watching this painting develop and feeling they were still not ready for such a composition. But seriously, I could have led them through it as well...

In Awe...

Lupine Cottage

Original oil painting

by Susan Roux

In June, I rented a house on Deer Isle, Maine with other artists to paint for a week. My intensions were to go paint lupines. Unfortunately Spring was very early this year and though we did find lupines, most were on their way out. I took lots of photos including the one I worked from for this painting.

I remember coming around a curve on a narrow winding road. The wooded area I was driving in opened up to a spectacular view of a causeway with the ocean on both sides. The sun was shining that morning and the green twinkling forest I was in bursts into a vista of blue. I slowed my car in awe, taking in the view. It was early. I was in search of a place to paint. I had left a sleeping houseful behind and ventured off in excitement, so thrilled to be on a painting holiday. It was day one.

I wasn't accustomed to causeways. This was the second one I'd found on the island. I liked them. They were curved roads, built up in round rocks, that connected two adjacent islands. Not at all like a bridge that passes you in a straight line above the water. No, this was more like kayaking. You know what I mean. Its like being at water level as oppose to above it like in a typical boat.

I wanted to pull over, but there was no place to park. I suppose it really didn't matter. There was no traffic. I could have left my vehicle in the middle of the road. But it was day one and I didn't yet realize just how rural this place was. At the start of the causeway, across the street, was a tiny spot were I could park my car. Having spotted it at the last minute, I quickly veered and pulled in rather crooked. The tail end of my not so small car (my family calls it a boat...) was still protruding out into the street. No problem. I was just stopping momentarily to snap a few pictures of the view.

I stepped out of my car and as I did I looked back towards the woods where I came from. Tucked up on a hill was this spectacular house. The sun brightened it like a shining beacon. A field of lupines, passed their prime, embraced it. What a romantic looking house. What a view.

I laughed at myself for almost missing it. If I hadn't stopped to take a picture of the ocean, I wouldn't have seen this house until my return at midday. The sun wouldn't have dramatized it like in morning.

Day one. Stopped on the roadside, stunned in awe at the beauty that surrounded me. Where was I? I think I landed in paradise.

I just noticed, today makes a year I've been blogging...

Without class

In the Lupines

Original oil painting 14x18"

by Susan Roux

I'm preparing a body of work to be exhibited next summer. I know it sounds far off to be beginning so soon, but the inspiration is alive and current. I feel its the perfect time to dive right in.

The morning I left for Deer Isle, I received an email from my artist friend Sandy. She suggested I go visit Peter at Blue Hill Bay Gallery, located directly in the picturesque town of Blue Hill, Maine. She is represented there and thought Peter might be interested in my art.

Talk about a last minute rush to pack a few finished paintings, grab frames, hardware and tools. No time left to put anything together. We were just about to leave. Running out the door, I remembered to print out a resume only to find it wasn't updated for 2010... Change some dates, pop in resume paper and hit print. In ten minutes, I managed to somewhat prepare for a gallery visit. Phew!

I was hoping to finish some magnificent work on location to totally impress him, but that didn't turn out to be the case. All my works were unfinished and the lupines were fading daily. By Thursday afternoon, I decided to give Peter a call.

This is never the way to approach a gallery, yet here I was doing it...

I like to project an image of class. Unfortunately Peter never saw it. His gallery was closing for the day in two hours and I was thirty minutes away. Throw some unfinished paintings in the car, hair all a mess and still in my painting clothes from a morning at work, yet I was off to Blue Hill.

I can't emphasize enough how it helps to know someone currently in a gallery. I did not enter the gallery with my best work. Luckily he could see through the plein air struggle and saw something he liked. Something that held promise. He delighted that I was so interested in the lupines. To my great surprise, he's taking me on.

We decided it would be best to plan for next year rather than try to rush a body of work instantly. And so here it is. My inspiration to paint lupines and the rocky coast of the Blue Hill Peninsula including Deer Isle and perhaps Acadia is front and foremost at the moment. Posted, In the Lupines, is my first finished painting for next years exhibit.

In the Lupines/detail

Yesterday, after my early morning lupine painting session with fog, I returned to my studio to finish the painting I'd started on the island, in the lupine patch. (They're purple. How can I resist?)

Hope you're immersing yourself in what nature has to offer. Its so beautiful...

(Happy Anniversary Honey!)

Foggy Lupines

Work in progress

Original oil painting 12x16"

by Susan Roux

Like Susan Brown, I awoke early to the sound of birds singing. Unlike her serenading sparrows with accompanying robins, I was sharply crackled by the resident ravens. I looked out the window. There was distant fog in the trees. It reminded me of a few mornings on Deer Isle. I'm still floating on island time and the simple sight of the haze sent my spirit right back there.

Never a bad thing...

All I could think of was the lupines in the distant fog. I could picture them so clearly. There would be no more sleeping. My mind was off in a hurry. Excitement started to bubble. In minutes, I slipped out of bed, eager to paint. I set my easel outside. My thought was to paint the fog from life, but add the lupines from memory. Just as I was beginning to open my first tube of paint, I heard one of my cats crying.

A bit of investigation and the continued escalating cry for help, led me to a tree at the edge of the woods. The cry came from above the leaves. Which cat was it? I have three. I couldn't see her. The foliage is thick and the tree, very tall.

I called. She cried. It repeated over and over.

Finally I caught sight of her. It was my white, five-month-old kitten, Star. There doesn't exist a ladder in my entire neighborhood that could reach her. I woke my two sons to come help. We pruned branches and called to her to come down. She was crying out of control. Such a feeling of helplessness. My neck hurt from looking straight up the tree for so long. Still she wouldn't come down.

Finally she decided to try. She made it down to a high fork. We were all calling her in unison to continue downward. The ravens were no longer crackling.

It was us now.

Suddenly Chris, my neighbor, appeared with coffee in hand. Oh no, did I wake you? It was just after five in the morning... Luckily she was on her porch drinking her first cup, when she heard us crackling.

Star came down. She was back to playing soon after getting a good dose of much needed snuggles.

Time to start painting. Nothing like a stressful debut to your creative time. The cats bounced around my easel. Fear forgotten, they were happy I was joining them outdoors at this early hour. I took a deep breath, calmed and started to paint.

The painting is not finished. Maybe it will turn out to be a study for a larger piece. I'm not accustomed to painting from my imagination, so I felt like I was adjusting the composition as I went along. Mud was developing. The foreground lupines still need to be toned down and I'd like to create a more interesting pattern for the distant lupines. I'll see where it leads me...

So what do I call this? Foggy Lupines or Cat in the Distant Tree?

Star

The island

There was magic on Deer Isle.

I thought I was going to Blue Hill to paint the lupines for a week. Blue Hill is both a peninsula and a town on the peninsula. The lovely home I rented was off the tip of the peninsula, on Deer Isle. Little did I know, once on the island, you don't leave...

There's no need to. No desire to.

The quiet charming beauty grows stronger on you as the days go by. By midweek, we were all contemplating buying a house here. The island had a magic pull and it caught us, full force. The people. The ways of the island. The magnificent flowers. The amazing coastline. The incredible light.

Yet another artists' paradise...

A slowed down pace was the heartbeat of the island. Karen, Chris and I set our easels up in the lupines. Literally.

It was on Ken's property. We never asked permission to be there, though there was a phone number posted on a tiny sign. The lupines had cast a spell on us and we simply couldn't resist jumping right in.

It wasn't long before a red truck pulled up. Was it Ken? The three of us were giggling as the man parked. Would he kick us out? What would he say? We were after-all, in his yard.

It was Denis. He said Ken would arrive soon. No, not a problem that we're there. Just the opposite, in fact. It was seen as a great compliment to have artists on your property! Lucky us. They even took a series of photographs. The three nutty ladies... painting in their lupines.

We returned to the lovely spot on the cove for several days. Over and over, several times a day, Denis stopped by to chat. Didn't he need to be at work? The daily pace here on the island was reminiscent of that of Ireland. People, free and happy to stop and talk with you. Like they had nothing else to do that day... How I'd love to figure out how to live that way! It really makes me wonder why we spend so much time rushing around. Could it really be unnecessary? These people seemed to think so.

Smiles beamed from the local's faces. There was a great sense of excitement in the air that folks had come to visit them and their precious island. They were genuinely happy to greet their tourists. Wow. That doesn't happen everywhere...

We were very productive during our stay. I have many paintings started and will be working to complete them soon. Karen Choquet has her first exhibit, a solo exhibit at that, scheduled to hang on Thursday. She too will be putting finishing touches on her new works soon!

Its been a great week...

Thanks for stopping by. You're visit is much appreciated.

Its Booked!

Blue Hill, here we come!

I rented this place on Blue Hill Peninsula (Maine) for a week in June. As you know, I've been looking into it. I want to go paint lupines by the ocean as posted in Booklets.

Well I finally made my decision on where to stay. One that wasn't very hard to make. Just look at this wonderful cottage??? no... house that I found! How could I resist? Affirmative confirmation from an artist friend was all I needed to clinch the deal. As soon as I received her phone call saying she would come, I was on the phone reserving it. What a beautiful doll house to go play in!

Pack your paints Baby, here we go!

I don't think it will be difficult to find a few other takers to join us. Martine-Alison, my wonderful artist friend in France, is even thinking of it. Buy your plane tickets, honey. Let's make it a reality! A painting holiday with wonderful artists friends... Just what the doctor ordered.

How could I resist this wicker sunroom or these charming bedrooms?

There's four in all!

The kitchen is huge and fully equipped.

We even have two outdoor decks that run the length of the house.

Carol, the owner, was most pleasant and helpful. She informed me of a lupine festival that will be going on when we arrive. She'll be leaving a brochure, which by the way, has maps and directions to all the largest lupine fields in the area. Perfect!

I must really be ready for a vacation. I leave Wednesday for a week in sunny Florida and I'm booking a place for June...

I told Mike, I must need a break more than I realize.

Booklets

Do you ever have brochures or booklets just jump out at you?

There they are. Staring you in the face. You can feel them tugging at you. Take me. Take me. Your arm leaps forward. You hesitate. It retracts. Your eye stays glued to the booklet. "Why would you be taking it?" you ask yourself. "These are for tourist." Unable to turn away, you finally pick it up.

Have you had this happen to you? I have. Several times actually.

What happens next is the real story. You spend a few moments wondering why you even grabbed this information and almost convince yourself it wasn't there for you at all. And then it happens... It sends you in a completely different direction altogether.

Your mind wanders and begins to imagine possibilities. New possibilities. Your excited just thinking about them. The first time this happened I was in the grocery store and at the checkout I spotted a Cape Cod art gallery guide. This may not strike you as funny, but I'm in Maine and Cape Cod is not exactly close by. There was just one gallery guide tucked among the TV guides. Looking back now, I'm convinced it arrived here by accident. An accident with my name on it. This happened in 2001 and by 2002, after much research and many art packets later, I got into the Blue Heron Gallery. If I hadn't picked up that booklet, would I be there? Most likely not.

Don't avoid taking chances that can spin you around. Surprises await. New beginnings await. Most times its just a matter of taking that initial step. Picking up that booklet...

So Wednesday while waiting for my son to arrive at the airport, I stumbled across a whole stand of booklets. Yes, they are there for tourist. Well a few jumped out at me and I must say I didn't hesitate as long as I had years ago in the grocery store. One was of Blue Hill, Maine. I've never been and knew nothing about it. I may have heard the name, but one town or another, if you don't know it can mean nothing.

I quickly learned its the jutting chunk of land just south of Acadia where the popular picturesque Bar Harbor sits. Its a wonderful area, so why wouldn't the area south be as pretty? I don't suppose it wouldn't. Photos of lupines run through out the booklet. Next thing I know, I'm all over the internet looking for lodging during lupine season...

Wouldn't it be splendid to go paint the lovely purple spikes with the ocean in the background? Whole houses are for rent by the week for the price of a few nights in an inn. (Ha ha, just like in Ireland!) My first thought of going for a few nights quickly turned into wanting to go paint for the week! My second thought is do I want to invite other artists to come join me? You can get houses with various number of bedrooms...

Well I'm not sure how this will play out at the moment. But I can tell you I wouldn't even be considering this if I hadn't first picked up that booklet. Now I'm tingling with excitement at the thought of going on a painting holiday.

I hope you keep yourself open to new possibilities. Half the fun is never knowing what's waiting around the corner. Just as color can give you surprises on the canvas, a slight change in direction can place surprises in your life. Go surprise yourself!